Maybe You're Not The Worst Thing Ever
by Madam Mare
Summary: Written for the prompt: The 'we have to sing a duet together but I hate you' AU. Or Team Shield meets Glee. Also features TripSkye, Clintasha, Steggy, and Philinda.
1. Chapter 1

XXXX

"Ok, everyone in your seats!" Phil Coulson clapped his hands as the bell rang, signaling the start of period. He waited until the small class had taken their seats before continuing. "The assignment this week is going to duets-"

"Isn't REO Speedwagon kind of hard to duet to?" Lance Hunter cut him off with a snicker.

Coulson leveled a glare in his students direction.

"Oh hush Lance, duets are fun!" Jemma Simmons waggled her fingers in the direction of her best friend and fellow cheerleader Skye May who she frequently teamed up with for assignments.

"Don't get too excited just yet. As you know sectionals are coming up and since this is our first year together, I want to make sure we are really prepared. And that means stepping out of our comfort zones. And that means," Coulson raised his voice to be heard over the load groaning. "changing things up. I have assigned you a partner for the week. All assignments are final." he paused his speech and began to hand out slips of paper.

Skye let out a small whoop when she saw that Coulson had partnered her with Shield High's newest transfer, Antoine Triplett. He was tall, muscular and had joined the football team. AKA exactly her type. When Trip received his paper, he shot her a charming smile.

When Jemma got her paper and she read who she was to be partnered with, her stomach knotted in dread. Leo Fitz. Her arch nemesis. She wasn't sure why he hated her so much, but his signals were easy enough to pick up on and so she returned them full force. She wasn't mean about it or anything. And she was a cheerleader. She had seen plenty of her teammates in action enough times that she had the knowledge on how to be a full on bitch, but she kept it to subtle returned hard stares and silence. She was honestly surprised when she walked into the first Glee Club class and saw him slouched in a chair in the corner. Glee didn't seem like it would be his thing, but she had to (begrudgingly) admit when he stood up (albeit uncomfortably) in front of the class that day and opened his mouth, that clearly he could sing.

"Um, Mr. C?" Jemma raised her hand.

"All assignments are final Jemma." Coulson reiterated as he finished handing out assignments.

"But Steve and Peggy are partnered," she argued.

Coulson shrugged, "Why mess with perfection."

"Thanks Mr. C!" Steve Rogers, called out, slipping an arm around his girlfriends shoulder. Steve was the Eagle's star quarterback and his longtime girlfriend Peggy was the cheer captain.

"Alright, partner up guys. The song choice is up to you. Use the rest of the period to prepare, and have your song ready for class tomorrow. FitzSimmons will be up first."

Jemma cringed when she heard Coulson mash their names together, and judging by the look on Fitz's face, he wasn't too happy with it either. Well, may as well get it over with. Jemma sighed and made her way over to where Fitz was sitting. On her way she saw Steve and Peggy, heads tilted close together as they no doubt were planning which love ballad to sing. Skye had practically bounced over to Trip's side and she had pulled her eye batting out in full force. If his charming smile (that really should have its own TV commercial) was anything to go by, Skye's efforts were not wasted on him. Natasha Romanoff, the beautiful Russian redhead had been paired up with Bobbi Morse, and Jemma knew between both of their voices, they would be a force to be reckoned with. Finally Clint Barton had been paired up with the class clown, Lance.

Pulling a chair up next to Fitz, she primly lowered herself down, tucking her cheer skirt neatly beneath her, "Hi partner."

"You don't have to sound so glum about it," Fitz said and he scrolled through his phone.

"At least I looked at you when I said it. The same can't be said for you!" Jemma retorted.

Fitz sighed and lowered his phone, "I was trying to look up songs that we could do."

"Oh," Jemma had the decency to look ashamed. "Sorry."

"S'ok," he picked his phone back up and began to scroll. "Wild Night?" he suggested after a beat.

Jemma scrunched her nose, "How about No More Tears?"

"No," Fitz quickly shot her idea down. "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around?"

"Nah. Time Of My Life?" she paused and then shook her head, "No, never mind that one."

Jemma couldn't help but glance around the room and saw everyone working together and planning their choreography already. Then she noticed the clock on the wall and realized that the bell was about to ring and they had yet to accomplish anything.

"This is ridiculous," she sighed, ripping off a corner of her assignment paper and scribbling her address on it. "Why don't you come over around six or so and we will figure something out." She shoved the paper at him just as the bell rang and she made her exit.

Her next and final class of the day was a free period which she shared with Skye, Peggy, Bobbi and Natasha. The girls all relocated to their usual corner of the library and sprawled out across the couch and several bean bag chairs to gossip.

"You guys all have your songs picked out?" Jemma kicked her book bag off to the side.

"Steve and I know what we're doing," Peggy grinned mysteriously.

"And you aren't going to tell us?" Skye asked, looking at the upperclassman indignantly.

"Nope!" she teased.

"Well, then my lips are sealed on what Trip and I are planning," Skye playfully stuck out her tongue.

"Yeah, what's up with that? You two looked mighty cozy," Bobbi winked at her.

"Hey I can't help it if he's a tall glass of water and I'm parched in the desert," Skye flipped her pony tail over her shoulder.

"Better not let coach hear you say that, next thing you know she'll have him drilling shuttle runs all day," Bobbi reminded her.

"Oh come on, my mom isn't that bad. Right? I mean she helped you get on the team." Skye suddenly sounded nervous.

"What can you say about Coach May?" Bobbi mused.

"I heard she got pulled over once and she glared at the officer and he just told her to have a nice day," Jemma offered.

"Tea apologizes for being too hot for Coach May," Peggy threw in.

"Once, Lance tripped while doing tire runs and split his lip open and he thanked Coach May," Bobbi struggled to keep a straight face.

"You guys!" Skye laughed.

"No, in all honesty, your mom is great. Her and Assistant Coach Hill really stood up for me and plead my case to Principal Fury to get me on the team. I just wouldn't want to be dating her daughter is all."

"Well, it's a good thing you aren't my type then," Skye cracked.

"But Trip clearly is," Natasha piped in.

Skye eyed redhead. To anyone who didn't know better, Natasha, with her lithe dancers body, was all elegance and grace, but her friends all knew better. Last year when Clint Barton had transferred in to Shield High, some of the kids found out that he wore a hearing aid and had begun to pick on him. Natasha spotted the commotion one day and had single handedly taken down the schools biggest bully. Clint had been unsure what to think of being defended by a girl at first, but he soon figured that Natasha was a good person to have on his team and the two became nearly inseparable. Most of their circle of friends were waiting for the day that the archer and the ballet dancer would finally put everyone out of their misery and begin dating.

"So my type!" she said with a shit eating grin.

"So Jemma, did you and Fitz get a song picked out?"

"Ugh, no," Jemma groaned and slumped back in her chair. "I'm real glad you are all happy with your assignments by the way."

"Oh come on Jemma, he can't be that bad," Bobbi tried to reason with her.

"Yeah, I've seen the guys hang out with him during study hall. Steve really seems to like him," Peggy handed Jemma a chocolate bar.

"Steve likes everyone," Jemma groused, taking a big bite of the candy.

Peggy shrugged and nodded.

"We got absolutely nothing accomplished. All we did was bicker over song choices. He shot down all my suggestions and I shot down all of his. It's hopeless!"

Natasha patted her knee sympathetically, "I'm sure you guys will work something out. You just have to compromise."

"Yeah, tell him that," Jemma said childishly.

Skye nudged her with her foot and raised her eyebrow.

Jemma sighed, "Alright, alright. Anyway, I told him to come over tonight so we can figure something out."

"There, that's a start," Peggy began to gather her books and edge towards the door. "I'll see you guys at practice, I want to see Steve before his practice starts. Nat, I'll see you in class tomorrow."

The girls all said their goodbyes as Peggy escaped out the door just as the bell rang.

XXXX

Cheer practice passed without incident, although Skye almost missed a lift due to paying a little too much attention to Trip's rear in his tight pants. Luckily Jemma and Peggy's quick thinking kept Wanda from breaking an ankle. Before Jemma knew it she was home and showered, waiting for Fitz to arrive, the TV running in the background to distract her. Shortly after six the doorbell rang and she got up to let him in.

"Hey," she held open the door for him.

"Hey," he said quietly, avoiding her eyes.

_Great_. Jemma thought to herself. _We haven't even started yet and already he's in a mood._

"My parent's are working late, but they left money for pizza if you're hungry?" she offered.

"Yeah, that'd be great." Fitz agreed, following her into her home.

"Extra cheese ok?"

"Perfect," he smiled at her.

_Wow, a real genuine smile. Maybe the night won't be so bad_, Jemma thought to herself as she phoned in their order. "It will be about 40 minutes," she told him when she got off the phone. "We can start working now or wait til we eat…"

"We can wait I guess. I'm kind of grumpy when I'm hungry anyways."

Jemma raised her eyebrow at that information. She wanted to make a crack about how he must be hungry all the time, but she bit back the urge. Instead she said, "I was just about to watch this weeks Doctor Who if you're interested."

Fitz nodded, "Sure."

He trailed after her into the living room taking in the expensive decor as he went and took a seat at the far end of the couch while Jemma collected remotes. After she had everything set, she joined him on the opposite end of the couch and hit play.

They watched the show in companionable silence, occasionally exchanging trivia and just as the end credits began to roll the pizza delivery man was at the door. Jemma started the next show in line on the DVR for background noise and then headed to the door. Fitz hung back awkwardly in the living room as Jemma paid for and collected their pizza. She plopped the box down on the large coffee table in front of the couch and motioned to it, "Help yourself."

"In here?" Fitz asked, looking around nervously at all the white upholstery.

Jemma shrugged before taking a large bite, "Good a place as any." She watched him out of the corner of his eye as he gingerly took a slice and began to carefully eat it, being mindful to catch any grease drippings with a napkin. With a thoughtful eye she took the schools resident mathlete in closely. For the first time she noted how his clothing seemed almost a size too large for him and possibly a season or two out of style. She cringed to herself as she realized that maybe she never really had given Fitz a fair shake. Maybe there was a reason he was so guarded.

"So, about this duet thing?" she carefully broached the subject.

Fitz was gnawing on his crust as he turned to her, "Any ideas?" he asked after swallowing.

"Nope. You?"

"Nope."

Suddenly the TV show caught both of their attention.

"You don't think?"

"Should we?" they looked to each other in unison.

Jemma quickly grabbed the remote for the DVR and rewound the scene to watch it from the beginning. When they finished watching the scene again they turned to each other with wide eyes.

"It's perfect!"

And with that, they quickly got to work.


	2. Chapter 2

XXXX

"Psst! Jemma!" Skye kicked the leg of Jemma's chair to get her attention as the rest of the class filed in to the choir room. "How did last night go?"

Jemma turned to her and smiled, "I guess you will have to wait and find out."

"Party pooper," the brunette groaned and blew her bangs off of her face.

"Mmmhmm. And how did your extra practice go with Trip?"

Skye blushed. "I guess you'll have to wait and find out," she mimicked.

Jemma laughed and rolled her eyes before Coulson called the class to attention.

"I trust everyone is prepared today?" his eyes traced the room, taking in everyone's nodding heads. "Excellent!" he clapped his hands. "Jemma and Leo, you're up."

Jemma shot him a wink and he gave her a thumbs up as they took their places front and center. Jemma nodded to the band to begin their music.

"You're frigid and demanding," Fitz began the slow melody.

"Whenever you come near me, my flesh begins to crawl," Jemma picked up where he left off.

"But sometimes there are moments, I'm not repelled at all," they began to harmonize. "Maybe you're not the worst thing ever."

"You're utterly disgusting, I loath your manly stink," Jemma continued on her own.

Bobbi exchanged horrified glances with the girls and Peggy noticed the guys doing much the same as the song continued.

"I see your mouth start moving, and god, I need a drink!" Fitz sang cheerfully.

"And then from out of nowhere, I'll look at you and think, maybe you're not the worst thing ever," they joined hands for a moment as their voiced melded together before quickly letting go again.

"You're worse than crabs!" Jemma continued with a smile.

"Worse than scurvy!"

"Worse than lice or plague," Jemma locked eyes with Fitz.

"But truth be told,"

"You're growing on me just like mold!" they exclaimed.

"And though you're so annoying," Fitz continued on his own.

"So easy to despise," Jemma lowered her voice an octave.

"And though there's something scary, behind your cold dead eyes," Fitz motioned to her eyes.

"And though I'll never like you,"

"It's nice to realize," their voices combined again. "Maybe I shouldn't quite say never….maybe you're not the worst thing ever…" They finished strong and turned to their classmates expectantly.

The room was uncomfortably silent as their friends stared blankly at them.

"Well, that was," Coulson finally broke the silence. "I think that uh," he fumbled, trying to find appropriate words.

"Certainly one of a kind," Bobbi muttered under her breath.

Lance snickered at her comment.

"It was, well I think you two may have missed the point of the assignment. To overcome your differences and sing a duet together."

Fitz flushed bright red as he took his seat.

"But Mr. C, we did a duet," Jemma argued meekly, taking her seat as well.

"Not quite the kind of duet I had in mind. I'll give you guys until the end of the week to prepare something else, ok?"

"Yes sir," Fitz said and Jemma nodded.

"Alright, how about Lance and Clint up next?"

The guys quickly scrambled to the front of the room, Lance never happier than when he was the center of attention. Clint handed the band their sheet music.

"Hit it boys!" Lance exclaimed as both he and Clint donned a pair of dark shades.

"I read your text saying what you wanna do to me," Lance began.

"All night long," Clint picked up smoothly.

Skye squealed when she recognized the lyrics.

"I think I might be able to fulfill your fantasy," Lance popped his shades up and winked in Bobbi's direction. "We can ride away, no time to waste, tonight baby,"

"All night long," Clint crooned.

"We can ride away, no time to waste, tonight baby. Walking up dirty street, she was God over the beast, oh the way she looked at me. She's out of space like Anakin, body like a mannequin," Lance traced the outline of Bobbi's figure with his hands as he sang. "Sippin on a girly drink."

Bobbi busted out laughing when Clint danced over and handed her a pink solo cup.

"Dancing on the table, life of the party, got my tongue on her navel, taking shots off her body. Yeah this little hottie, she's trying to get me sprung, while she's sucking on cherries tying knots with her tongue," Lance winked suggestively at Bobbi.

The rest of the class began to get into the song, snapping their fingers to the beat and dancing around in their chairs.

"Oh girl, it's you girl, I love it when you're teasing me. Oh girl, the things you do girl, I love it when you're pleasing me," Clint slid over to Natasha on his knees as he belted out his part. Natasha threw back her head and laughed in delight.

"You wanna get it shawty," Clint bounced the shades up and down off his nose.

"All night long," Lance followed his movement.

"Then keep acting naughty," Clint moved his shoulders to the beat.

"All night long," Lance spun a giggling Bobbi around in her chair.

"You got me thinking baby,"

"All night long,"

"You need a spanking baby," Clint tried and failed to keep a blush off his face as he belted out that line.

"All night long," Lance unexpectedly pulled Bobbi's chair to the front of the room and the class started hooting when he plopped a hat on Bobbi's head and she joined in with them.

"Walking down dirty street, party rocking to the beat, oh the way he looked at me. He's out of space like Anakin, body like a mannequin," Bobbi copied Lance's earlier movement, tracing his outline. "Sipping on some Hennessy. Dancing on the table, life of the party, he's got his tongue on my navel, taking shots off my body. Yeah I'm feeling naughty, I'm trying to get it sprung, while I'm sucking on this lollipop, you can be my lollipop," She twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she playfully danced around Lance.

"Oh boy, I want you boy, I love it when you're teasing me. Oh boy, the things you do boy, I love it when you're pleasing me," she tipped her hat in the boys directions with a wink and sauntered back to her seat, letting them finish strong.

They ran through the chorus and bridge once more before they finished their song, wide smiles on their faces.

The class jumped to their feet and gave the boys (and Bobbi) a standing ovation.

"Damn girl!" Trip nodded his head appreciatively at his friend and then fist bumped Clint and Lance.

"All right, all right, settle down," Coulson tried to calm the rowdy friends.

"Come on Mr. C. That was killer!" Skye exclaimed.

"While I don't partake in that particular slang," Coulson fought back a grin, "Yes, that was a very good performance. Thought not quite a duet. But nevertheless, excellent job to the three of you. Only lets keep song choices more family friendly for sectionals, yeah?"

"No problem Mr. C!" Lance agreed, giving Bobbi a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You got it," Clint agreed, shooting shy smiles in Natasha's direction.

"Any volunteers to go next?" Coulson asked the group.

Skye shot her hand up immediately.

"Alright Skye, lets see what you and Trip came up with," Coulson motioned them to the front of the room.

The pair stood facing each other and waited for the pianist to begin playing.

"I don't know you but I want you, all the more for that," Trip began in his rich baritone voice.

"Words fall through me and always fool me, and I can't react," Skye took a hold of his hand as she joined him.

"And games that never amount to more than their meant, will play themselves out," Trip continued on his own.

"Take this sinking boat and point it home, we've still got time, raise your hopeful voice you have a choice, you've made it now, falling slowly, eyes that know me, and I can't go back, the moods that take me and erase me, and I'm painted black," they sang in perfect melody.

"Well you have suffered enough, and warred with yourself, it's time that you won," he continued on his own, gazing into Skye's eyes.

"Take this sinking boat and point it home, we've still got time," they again joined hands as they belted out the remainder of the song. "Raise your hopeful voice, you had the choice, you've made it known, falling slowly, sing your melody, I'll sing along."

"Very nice job," Coulson praised, giving Skye a fond smile. It was Shield High's worst kept secret that he and Skye's mom were seeing each other and that he and Skye had developed a deep paternal bond. When Trip had turned to return to his seat, Coulson conspicuously pointed to him behind his back and gave Skye a wink and thumbs up. Skye grinned, a faint blush staining her cheeks as she too took her seat.

"We have time for one more duet today, any volunteers?" Coulson asked the class.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve and Peggy exchanged a look and then looked to Natasha and Bobbi who gave them a slight head nod.

"Steve and I will go," Peggy announced.

"Excellent," Coulson grinned.

The couple handed their sheet music to the band and pushed the stools to the edge of the room.

"Awww," Jemma all but squealed when they music picked up and she recognized the song.

"Am I really here in your arms? It's just like I dreamed it would, I feel like we're frozen in time, and you're the only one I can see," Peggy began.

"Hey, I've looked all my life for you, and now you're here, hey I've spent all my life with you, all my life," Steve's melodic voice joined hers.

"And I never really knew how to love, I just hoped somehow I'd see, asked for a little help from above, send that angel down to me," Steve playfully tapped Peggy's nose on his last line.

"Hey, I've looked all my life for you, and now you're here, hey I've spent all my life with you, all my life," they joined hands, gazing softly into each others eyes.

"I never thought that I could feel a love so tender, I never thought I could let those feelings show," Peggy belted out.

"But now my heart is on my sleeve, and this love will never leave," Steve continued.

"I know, I know," they harmonized together before belting out the chorus two more times, finishing their performance with joined hands and sappy gazes.

The class burst into applause, startling Peggy and Steve's attention from one another.

"You guys are so cute!" Jemma exclaimed.

"Excellent job guys!" Coulson praised.

Peggy did a fake courtesy while Steve mock bowed before they took their seats.

"Alright, Bobbi and and Natasha will be up tomorrow, and FitzSimmons be prepared for Friday," he instructed just as the bell rang and the class began to scatter.

Jemma carefully made her way over to Fitz before he could disappear in the masses in the hallway, "Hey, did you want to come over again tonight? Maybe get some food and practice?"

"Uh, yeah sure," Fitz fought to keep the surprised blush off his cheeks. "What time?"

"Five ok?" she asked.

"Sure, I'll see you then."

"Give me your phone," Jemma held out her hand expectantly.

"Huh?"

Jemma tilted her head to the side and waited.

"Oh, right," Fitz fumbled awkwardly through his pockets to retrieve his phone and then handed it to her after unlocking it.

She quickly tapped away at the screen and a few moments later he heard her own cell buzz from her purse. She held the phone up in front of her and began to fix her hair.

"Are you-?" Fitz began but the click on the camera shutter cut him off. Yep, she was taking a selfie. Peace sign and all.

A few more taps on the screen and then she handed his phone back to him. "See you tonight!"

"Yeah, tonight," Fitz stared at her for a second before hurrying away down the hall.

After he ducked around a corner he unlocked his phone and looked at the display. Jemma's smiling face was staring back at him under his contacts list. He tried to ignore the slight flutter in his chest as he locked his screen and headed to his next class.

Jemma watched as he disappeared in the crowd and then jumped in surprise when Skye popped out of nowhere and looped her arm with her own, dragging her down the hall.

"What the hell Skye?" Jemma snapped when Skye pushed her down on the couch library where the rest of the girls were waiting.

"Ok spill Simmons," was Skye's response.

"Spill what?" Jemma began to rearrange herself to a more comfortable position.

"I saw you talking to Fitz after class."

"Oh, oh dear, oh my god! You…you saw me talking to my classmate after class? Oh dear lord how am I ever going to explain that?" Jemma replied monotonously.

"Really cute Simmons," Skye rolled her eyes.

"Skye, they are doing a duet together. Usually that requires some form of communication," Natasha offered.

"Mmmmhmm. Well, Trip and I used a while different kind of communication when we were planning our duet. A lot more tongue action."

"Skye, don't be gross," Peggy moaned.

"Oh don't act like you and Steve aren't all over each other every chance you get. It's sickening. So adorable that it's sickening," Skye huffed with a playful grin.

"Need we remind you of the bleachers incident?" Bobbi tried to keep a straight face.

"Oh shut up all of you!" Peggy blushed.

"Look, all I'm saying is that Fitz is kinda cute, but just the other day you said you couldn't stand him," Skye reasoned.

Jemma stared down at her shoes, her gut tightening with guilt, "Yeah well, I guess I need to not judge people so easily. Anyway, he is coming over tonight again to practice."

"Bow chica bow wow," Skye wagged her eyebrows.

Jemma rolled her eyes, "You're impossible. Now if you'll excuse me, some of us have homework to work on."

"Cuz you'll be too busy later playing smoochy smoochy with Fitz," Skye puckered her lips and made smooching noises in Peggy's direction.

Jemma forcefully flipped her chemistry book open and began to read.

XXXX

When Jemma got home, she deposited her backpack in her bedroom before returning downstairs. She swept a critical eye around her surrounding, feeling like she should tidy up or something, which was silly. The house was as spotless as ever, and Fitz had just been there the night before. And it wasn't like she was trying to impress him or anything. Retreating to the kitchen, she opened a drawer and pulled out some takeout menus so that they could order dinner later and then retreated to her bedroom. She had finished her homework in study hall earlier, but it never hurt to get a head start on the next day's work. She pulled her biology book out and settled herself on her bed and began reading. She was so deep into the book that she startled when her phone beeped beside her. She was surprised to see the time on the lit up display, she had been studying for nearly two hours. Seeing Fitz's name on the screen she couldn't help but smile. She tapped in her password and opened his message. The smile fell however when she read his text.

_Hey, sorry for the late notice, but I won't be able to make it tonight._

She quickly tapped out a reply. _:( thats ok. Everything ok?_

Her thumb hovered over the send button as she read and reread her reply. Second guessing herself, she deleted the emoticon before pressing send.

_Yeah. Sorry again. _Came his quick reply.

She quickly typed back that she would see him tomorrow before tossing her phone to the side with a sigh. She flipped to the next page in her bio book, but found herself uncharacteristically unable to concentrate. Reaching for her phone again she unlocked it and fiddled with the screen. She wasn't mad about being stood up as it were, like she would normally be, instead she just found herself concerned.

"Argh!" She exclaimed, flopping her head back into her pillows. She pulled up her text messages and quickly shot one off, staring at the three moving dots on her screen while she waited for a reply. Luckily she didn't have to wait long. Getting the answer she was looking for, she grabbed a light jacket from her closet and headed out.


	4. Chapter 4

XXXX

Fifteen minutes later, Jemma found herself in a small nearby neighborhood. The quaint light yellow house in front of her had a small fence around the yard and Jemma could hear peals of laughter coming from a park down the street. Before she could lose her nerve she marched up the front steps.

Jemma raised her hand and knocked firmly on the door.

A few moments later a pair of blue eyes were squinting out at her through the crack of the door, but they weren't they eyes she was expecting.

"Can I help you?" the boy (college aged if Jemma had to guess) asked her.

"Uh, is Fi-uh-Leo here?" she stuttered.

He opened the door wider and then shouted over his shoulder, "Hey nerd! Someone is looking for you. It's a girrrrrrl!"

"Stop it Jason," a flustered looking Fitz appeared behind Jason. "Jemma, uh, what are you doing here?"

"Well, as much as I would like to observe the nerd attempting to flirt in his native habitat, I have to get to class. Later loser," Jason stuck his hand into Fitz's curls and roughed them up as he shouldered past Fitz in the door.

Jemma's mouth dropped open at the older boys rudeness.

"Sorry," Fitz flushed, trying to fix his hair. "That's my brother, he's kind of a-"

"An asshole," Jemma finished for him.

He smiled, "Yeah."

"Sorry for just showing up. I was just worried when you canceled last minute. Is everything ok?"

"Oh yeah, sorry," he began to rub at the back on his neck. Something Jemma noticed he tended to do when he was nervous.

"Leooooo, where'd you go? You were 'posta find us!" his explanation was cut off by the arrival of two pint sized girls.

Jemma found herself being peered up at by twin sets of familiar blue eyes.

"Leo, who dat?" one of them tugged on Fitz's jeans to get his attention, while the other shyly stuck her thumb in her mouth.

Fitz crouched down to be level with the girls, "Molly, Lizzie this is my friend Jemma. Jemma, these are my sisters Molly and Lizzie." He finished introductions and gently pulled Lizzie's thumb from her mouth.

Jemma followed his lead and crouched down in the doorway, "Hi, it's nice to meet you guys. I love your dress Molly, and Lizzie, that is such a cute bracelet," she smiled and gently ran her finger over the rubber silly band.

"Thank you," Lizzie whispered.

"She's pretty Leo," Molly grinned at her big brother.

Fitz ignored his sisters comment and turned to Jemma apologetically, "My mum had to go back to work and the sitter canceled last minute."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Jemma brushed off his apology.

"Leo, can Jemma stay and play with us?" Molly whispered loudly.

"Mols, I'm sure she has better stuff-"

"I would love to Molly!" Jemma cut Leo off. "What are you guys playing?"

"Hide n seek!" Molly exclaimed. "And it's my turn to do the seekin."

"Well then, lets get hiding!" Jemma grinned as Molly grabbed her hand and pulled her in the house.

"I'm gonna go in the kitchen and count to a hundred!" Molly let go of Jemma's hand and skipped off to the kitchen to begin loudly counting.

Fitz and Jemma began looking around for places to hide Lizzie when she tugged at Fitz's hand and pointed to a cabinet in the living room.

"Good idea Lizzie," Jemma walked over to it and opened the door for her to scoot in.

Lizzie shook her head and pointed at Jemma, "You too."

Jemma smiled and crawled into the large cabinet, Lizzie followed suit and settled onto her lap. Fitz closed the door behind them and hearing Molly get close to one hundred, darted off to find his own hiding spot.

"99 - 100! Ready or not here I come!" Molly bellowed from the kitchen.

Jemma heard her small footsteps run past her and Lizzie's hiding spot, and she felt Lizzie's tiny body shake with laughter. The house was quiet for a while and Jemma thought that they may have to make a bit of noise to give Molly a hint to their hiding place when suddenly their small dark enclosure was flooded with light when the door popped open.

"Found you!" Molly exclaimed gleefully.

Jemma helped Lizzie climb out before unfolding herself, "Good job Molly. Now lets find your brother."

The two girls crept around the house with Jemma searching Fitz when Jemma noticed the toes of a pair of converse sneakers sticking out from under a curtain. She gently nudged the girls and pointed it out to them. She put her finger to her lips and quickly scooped Lizzie up as they crept closer. She motioned for Molly to get his feet and on the count of three, deposited Lizzie onto his side in a surprise tickle attack on their brother. The twins shrieked with delight as Fitz tried to avoid their tiny fingers digging into his ribs and calves and Jemma sank to the floor silently consumed by laughter.

"Uncle! Uncle!" Fitz cried in defeat, carefully dropping to the floor.

The girls relented in their attack and flopped to the floor next to him. "Can I seek next?" Lizzie asked.

"Of course Lizzie," Fitz dragged himself up off the floor and offered a hand to Jemma to help her up.

An hour of hide and seek, and a set of exhausted twins later, Fitz was finally able to get the girls tucked into their beds.

"Thanks for playing with them, you didn't have to do that," Fitz told her, quietly shutting the twins door.

"It's no trouble. They're sweet," Jemma shrugged as she trailed him down the hall.

"You play?" Jemma nodded her head in the direction of a few guitars leaning up against the wall in his room.

"Much to everyones displeasure when I first started," he grimaced.

Jemma smiled as she plucked at a few strings, "My parents were none to pleased with my learning curve either."

"I didn't know you played," his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"There's a lot you don't know about me Fitzy."

Fitz's eyes light up as an idea hit him, "How do you feel about country music?"

"It's my total guilty pleasure," she grinned.

Fitz hurried over to his guitars and handed his acoustic one to Jemma before grabbing his electric one for himself.

Jemma glanced nervously down the hall in the direction of the sleeping twins. "It won't wake them?"

"Nah," Fitz shrugged, "They learned to sleep through in a long time ago. As long as I don't plug in the amp."

Jemma perched on the edge of Fitz's bed opposite him and tried to ignore the swoop in her belly when his eyes met hers. He began to play the first few chords of a song and waited to see if she recognized them. She could tell the exact moment that he knew she did because his eyes crinkled up at the corners when he smiled. She followed his lead and they were soon playing in unison. Jemma felt her heart speed up when he began to softly sing. His voice seemed deeper, sexier even and in her distraction she accidentally played a wrong note. She felt her face heat up and she glanced up at him, praying he hadn't noticed. Her mouth went dry when she noticed the way he was looking at her, eyes fixed on her, soft smile on his face. If she didn't know any better, she would have felt like the most adored person in the world in that minute. Tearing her eyes away from him and trying to rid her mind of confusing thoughts, she began to softly sing along with him.

"That was amazing," she couldn't help but breathe out when they finished.

"It was, should we do it for our duet?"

"Yeah, absolutely!" Jemma glanced at her phone display which had lit up with a text from Skye, "Shoot, it's getting late. I should probably go."

"It's late, you shouldn't walk alone. My mom should be home soon and I'll walk with you."

"Fitz, it's," Jemma tried to argue before he cut her off.

"Jemma, you won't win this," he teased.

"Fine," she rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face betrayed her. "Hey can I ask you something?" she suddenly felt nervous.

"Of course," he nudged her foot playfully. "No guarantee I'll answer it though."

"Ha ha ha," she deadpanned.

"No, seriously though, what's up?"

"How come, I mean I know I'm not the easiest, but I always got the feeling," she rambled nervously, feeling her face heat up she brought her hands up to cup her neck.

"Jemma, breathe," Fitz cut her off.

She took a deep breath in and then another.

"Better?"

She nodded and then blurted out, "How come you hate me?"

"Huh?" Fitz was taken aback, mouth hanging open in surprise.

"I know I'm not the easiest person to get to know, but…" she trailed off, unsure how to continue and suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

"You think I hate you?"

"Or hated me, maybe," she mumbled, wishing for nothing more than a giant hole to open up in the floor and swallow her whole. Or an astroid strike. She wasn't feeling very picky in the moment.

"Can I ask why you thought that?"

Jemma noticed that he couldn't meet her eyes anymore, he was staring down at his shoes and she knew she messed up. "You know what, nevermind. I'll just walk home now, it's ok," she bolted upright but before she could move warm fingers encased her wrist and gently tugged her back.

"Jemma, why do you think that?" he repeated softly.

She sighed and sank back down on the bed next to him, avoiding his gaze. "We've been in a bunch of the same classes for what three years?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"It's just that, you would never talk to me. And whenever I tried to talk to you, you'd just mumble something and run off. And it felt like you were always glaring at me so after a while I just gave up trying."

"Oh," Fitz dug his toes into his carpet, feeling his face heat up.

"I mean it's fine. Not everyone has to be friends."

"No, it's not that. Shit Jemma, what we've got here is failure to communicate," he risked cracking a grin in her direction.

Jemma cocked her head to the side confused.

"Look at you and look at me…"

"I don't understand."

"Jemma, you're one of the most popular girls in school. You intimidated the hell out of me. Still kinda do," he admitted.

Her eyebrows rose skyward at his admission, "Aw, Fitz…you can't possibly still find me intimidating after finding me hiding in your dryer."

"Yeah ok, a few more rounds of hide and seek and the level would be all but nonexistent," he laughed.

Hearing the front door open and close Fitz got to his feet and offered Jemma a hand, tugging her up, "That's my mom, come on, I'll walk you home."

Fifteen minutes later they were standing under the floodlight on Jemma's front porch. "Thanks for walking me home, that was really sweet of you, you didn't have to."

Fitz shrugged, trying to downplay himself, "My mom would never let me hear the end of it if she found out I let you walk home alone."

Jemma smiled, "Well goodnight then, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night,"

Then, acting on impulse, Jemma stood up on her tiptoes and landed a gentle kiss on Fitz's cheek before hurrying inside.

Fitz stood frozen in shock after Jemma had gone. As he turned around, a goofy smile overtook his features, and he raised his hand to gently touch his cheek where Jemma's lips had left a burning imprint.


End file.
